69novels Chapter 254 Mother and Daughter Soldiers on the Battlefield
Chapter 254 Mother and Daughter Soldiers on the Battlefield
The court officials had long heard that the palace was experimenting with smallpox inoculation. They inquired from various sources and received favorable news, but since it involved human lives, they dared not try it lightly.
Right now, the Emperor has said that even the Imperial Noble Consort has planted it, and many others in the palace have also planted it, and they all want to plant it and are eager to try.
There were also those who were a bit stubborn. Consort Qiong's father, Imperial Censor Lu Bende, asked, "Your Majesty, there's no definitive answer as to whether this smallpox treatment is effective or not. Smallpox isn't prevalent now, so we don't know if it's even useful!"
Lu Bende was mentioned during the reign of the late emperor. To put it nicely, he was upright; to put it bluntly, he was not very clever. Li Yuanke particularly disliked this father-in-law.
Because he always opposed him in court, he supported no one, and he even criticized Prime Minister Pei.
Li Yuanke thought to himself, no wonder he had such a silly daughter as Consort Qiong. She used to be bullied like a dog by the Empress, but she only became a little tougher after she joined Chenyuan.
"You'll probably never know whether this method of smallpox prevention will actually work. If it does, smallpox will probably not be prevalent in the capital in the future. If it doesn't, will you even have a chance to survive if you get smallpox?"
You'll be the first one to die!
Shen Shixi was speechless when she heard about the "Chenyuan Smallpox Inoculation Method." The name was ridiculous, but the decree had already been issued, and if she objected, she would just be being pretentious.
After she had the Imperial Medical Academy write down the method for smallpox inoculation, thousands of copies were mimeographed in the palace, stamped with the seal of the Imperial Medical Academy, and then distributed throughout the city to various medical shops and pharmacies.
They even wrote big-character posters and posted them in the city, clearly outlining all the precautions, thus making this method known to everyone.
The imperial court issued a decree, and the Imperial Medical Academy also arranged for many people to go to various prefectures to supervise and guide smallpox vaccination. Shen Shixi specially asked the Imperial Medical Academy to send someone to Bingzhou to vaccinate her father first.
The Emperor also rewarded the Imperial Medical Academy staff who assisted Shen Shixi in researching smallpox inoculation. He bestowed an imperial decree upon Zhang Yuanpan's mother, who was a very filial son and was moved to tears. As for Jiang Lingyou, he was promoted, which meant he was given a higher official rank.
Everyone else received a reward, either money or cloth, without exception.
This also made everyone realize that working for Imperial Noble Consort Chenyuan would bring both fame and fortune.
In the future, their names will surely be recorded in history books.
As the Empress Dowager's birthday approached, Bai Ping reminded Shen Shixi that no birthday gifts had been prepared yet.
Shen Shixi then asked her to bring out a cotton quilt, made from cotton harvested last year. It was white, light, fluffy, and soft, like a white cloud, making one want to sleep just by looking at it.
There was another play that the Imperial Music Bureau had been rehearsing for a long time. It was called "River Clears and Seas Calm." It was very simple. It told the story of all the gods and Buddhas going to the capital to celebrate the Empress Dowager's birthday.
The 20th is the Empress Dowager's birthday.
On that day, the emperor led all civil and military officials in performing the three kneelings and nine prostrations ceremony to the Empress Dowager. Afterwards, the empress led the concubines in the harem to perform the ceremony to the Empress Dowager, and Shen Shixi was naturally among them.
The emperor then bestowed an honorific title upon the Empress Dowager.
The banquet was held at Daqing Palace. Although it was not a grand affair, it was still quite large in scale. There were many people present, including civil and military officials of the third rank and above, noblewomen, relatives and ministers, as well as members of the imperial harem.
Shen Shixi saw Wang Linyao, the prospective Princess Consort of Jin, at the banquet. She was accompanied by her mother and had come to celebrate the Empress Dowager's birthday and also to meet her.
Pei Gaoshi then praised, "What does Your Majesty think of him? I think he's quite good. He's good-looking, has good character, and is of good temperament. He's much better than the one I keep."
With the selection finalized, the Empress Dowager naturally wouldn't say anything negative. After all, it wasn't her son, so it didn't matter, and she also praised him.
Then they rewarded him, and Shen Shixi couldn't refuse to do so now, since his rank had risen.
Pei Gao asked about Shen Shixi's sister, "You mentioned the Third Miss before. I saw her from afar the other day. No wonder she was so beautiful. I thought she was a celestial being. She is the sister of the Imperial Noble Consort."
The Shen family's daughters are renowned in the capital. The late Consort Shu was an exceptional woman, and now there's the Imperial Noble Consort, and the third daughter is no ordinary person either.
Shen Shixi smiled, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
The Empress Dowager had originally intended to choose the third daughter of the Shen family to be the wife of her youngest son, the Prince of the County. This was to give the Shen family face. For the Shen family, three out of four daughters were to marry into the royal family, which was truly a great favor from the Emperor.
"Bring him up quickly, let me see him!"
The second wife then led Miss Shen up to pay her respects to the Empress Dowager and wish her a happy birthday.
We've already done the birthday greetings before it's time to do them, so we don't have to do them again later.
The Empress Dowager had already seen Shen Shiwan's portrait, and now that she saw her in person, she was even more beautiful than in the portrait. Her demeanor was completely different from Shen Shixi's; she was calm, gentle, and poised, making people happy at first glance.
Shen Shixi is too capable. Before she became my daughter-in-law, she seemed lovely, smart and clever. But after spending more time with her, I just couldn't handle her.
No mother-in-law with even a little pride would like this kind of daughter-in-law.
Shen Shiwan is fine.
The Empress Dowager then asked, "Is he a good match? Is he betrothed yet?"
The second lady smiled and said, "Thanks to the Empress Dowager, it's granted!"
Seeing the Empress Dowager's expression change, the Dowager Lady of Changning quickly smiled and said, "It was I who beat you to it! As the saying goes, a good daughter is sought after by a hundred families. I just thought the Shen family's daughter was quite nice, so I quickly grabbed her first!"
Immediately, someone joked, "You're quick on your feet!"
The Dowager Lady of Changning was overjoyed and very pleased with herself.
Ning Zhaorong had already received the news from her family. When her mother asked for her opinion, she naturally agreed.
After their father died in battle, although they received the emperor's favor, in the end, it was still up to the elder brother to uphold the family's honor.
However, external forces are also indispensable. The father and brothers of the Shen family are all loyal people, and with the Imperial Noble Consort as the pillar of stability, the Shen family can prosper for at least another thirty years. Judging from the character of the Imperial Noble Consort, it can be seen that the daughters of the Shen family are all very good. Marrying into the Shen family would be entirely beneficial.
The Empress laughed and said, "Sister Chenyuan, you're really quick! The other day, Mother was just talking about the candidate for Twelfth Brother's principal wife, and I even said that Miss Shen was quite good. I didn't expect that she would be engaged so soon. Is she afraid that Mother would take a liking to her?"
The Empress has now completely abandoned all pretense of civility; her aim is to sow discord.
The methods were just a bit clumsy.
Shen Shixi said, "I dare not imitate Your Majesty the Empress! The royal family is good, but it is not possible for all the sisters in the family to marry into the royal family. If sisters become sisters-in-law, it will be a laughing stock for the whole world. What does that mean? Is it that you want the royal family's wealth and status for your whole life?"
"Marriage is ultimately about matching social status. The Prince is the Emperor's younger brother, a member of the imperial family, with the bearing of a dragon and the grace of a phoenix. Presumably only a daughter of the Pei family is worthy of him. In my opinion, if there are any unmarried women in the Pei family, bring them here for a look and see if they are a suitable match."
These words have thoroughly insulted the Pei family's daughter; who would dare to propose marriage to the Pei family in the future?
There were also civil and military officials, as well as ladies of high rank from both inside and outside the court!
Pei Gao was furious, but couldn't retaliate. She smiled and said, "Your Majesty the Imperial Noble Consort's mouth! I'm truly terrified! What did Her Majesty the Empress say that caused you to curse the entire Pei family like that!"
Madam Shen said, "I dare not accept Madam Gao's words. What did the Imperial Noble Consort say? She was praising the Pei family, but you interpreted it as an insult. This isn't a public place; there's no such thing as insulting people here."
This is the palace; the Empress Dowager and the Emperor are here too.
Pei Gao was speechless.